US State Department: Houthis Must Cease Rights Violations Immediately

The State Department building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. (Reuters)
The State Department building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. (Reuters)
TT

US State Department: Houthis Must Cease Rights Violations Immediately

The State Department building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. (Reuters)
The State Department building is pictured in Washington, US, January 26, 2017. (Reuters)

The US Department of State has demanded that the Iran-backed Houthi militias cease their violations against the Yemeni people and release detainees held in their jails immediately.

A Department spokesman told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Yemen has a real opportunity for peace, and we hope to see further progress soon. Unfortunately, the Houthis continue to pursue their offensive in Marib—with devastating humanitarian consequences—rather than choosing peace.”

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he added: “We continue to advocate for the release of unjustly detained individuals, regardless of where they are from or who is holding them.”

“Exercising human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion should never be criminalized,” he stressed.

Asked about the detention of Yemeni Jew Levi Marhavi and the forced displacement of Jewish families in Yemen, he replied: “We continue to advocate for his release. We have raised his case repeatedly at the UN Security Council and the former Secretary of State released a statement calling for his immediate release.”

He also urged the release of US citizen Abdulbari al-Kotf, who has been held hostage since 2018. “We continue to advocate for his immediate and unconditional release. On April 12, we announced a reward for anyone who provides information that leads to his release,” he added.

“We also deplore the arrest of Intisar Hamadi and call for the Houthis to release her immediately.”

Separately, Jason Guberman, executive director of the American Sephardi Federation, said the Houthi hearts “are filled with hatred.”

“After cursing and persecuting Jews for years, sieg-heiling Houthis are now ethnically ‘cleansing’ Yemen of its ancient Jewish community,” he said in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The Iranian regime-backed Houthis are exploiting international sympathy while perpetuating Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and perpetrating mass atrocities, such as bombing mosques during prayer and burning hundreds of African migrants alive,” Guberman said.

“During Passover, the Houthis expelled almost all of Yemen’s last Jews to Egypt,” he revealed.

“These Jews loved Yemen and had no desire to leave, but Houthis practice the antisemitism they preach. The plight of Yemen’s Jews is too often overlooked and ignored. Those who claim to stand for marginalized peoples, human rights, and claim ‘Yemen can’t wait’ have failed to act,” he lamented.

Moreover, he said: “The American Sephardi Federation, as the representative of Sephardic Jewish communities (including Yemenites), launched the #FreeLevi campaign to advocate for the immediate release of Levi Salem Musa Marhabi and to mobilize people to oppose the Houthi ideology.”

Marhabi is a Yemeni Jew who was arrested for allegedly helping a Jewish family escape persecution. He has been tortured for years and is now partially paralyzed, said Guberman, urging the Biden administration to act immediately to ensure his release.

“The US Department of State has called for Levi Marhabi’s release, but that is not enough,” he continued.

“When Natan Sharansky was illegally imprisoned by the Soviet Union, the US Government made it a policy to press at every meeting, no matter the subject, for his release. Similarly, Marhabi should be mentioned at the beginning of every meeting with the Houthis, as well as at the negotiations with the Iranian regime, which is providing the Houthis with ‘quite significant and lethal’ support, according to US Special Envoy Lenderking,” he remarked.

In its most recent report, Amnesty International accused the Houthis of “using arbitrarily detained prisoners as chess pieces in political negotiations.”

The report, “Released and Exiled: Torture, unfair trials and forcible exile of Yemenis under Houthi rule” highlighted the plight of detainees, which include some journalists and political opponents, who were released as part of political deals.

In March, the Yemeni government documented 21,000 violations committed by the Houthis in Sanaa, including murder and torture, forced disappearance, looting, displacement and violations against women and children.



Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
TT

Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is unwilling to pursue peace in Syria and warned that Israel’s efforts to spread war across the Middle East are undermining the environment fostered by the Astana Process.

Fidan emphasized the importance of Russian and Iranian efforts within the framework of the Astana Process to maintain calm on the ground, pointing to ongoing consultations with the US regarding the Syrian crisis.

Speaking during a parliamentary session discussing the 2025 budget of the Foreign Ministry, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s expectation that the dialogue proposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be approached strategically by the Syrian government, with priority given to the interests of the Syrian people.

Regarding Erdogan’s invitation to Assad for a meeting to discuss the normalization of ties between Ankara and Damascus, Fidan remarked that the matter depends on political will, stressing that the Turkish president has demonstrated his readiness at the highest level.

Last week, Erdogan reiterated the possibility of a meeting with Assad, but Russia, which mediates the normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus, ruled out such a meeting or high-level engagements in the near future.

Russian Presidential Envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev attributed the impasse to Türkiye’s refusal to meet Damascus’ demand for a withdrawal from northern Syria, accusing Ankara of acting as an “occupying state”.

Although Türkiye has not officially responded to Lavrentiev’s comments, which reflect a shift in Russia’s stance, Fidan stated in a televised interview last week that Russia remains “somewhat neutral” regarding the normalization process. He also urged the Syrian government to create conditions for the return of 10 million Syrian refugees.

Türkiye maintains that its military presence in northern Syria prevents the country’s division, blocks the establishment of a “terror corridor” along its southern border, and deters new waves of refugees from entering its territory.

Fidan outlined his country’s key objectives in Syria, which include eradicating terrorist groups (such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Syrian Democratic Forces), preserving Syria’s territorial unity, advancing the political process, and ensuring the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, Turkish artillery targeted villages and positions controlled by the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose main component is the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

On Friday, fierce clashes erupted between the Syrian National Army factions and the SDF in western Tel Abyad, northern Raqqa. Simultaneously, Turkish artillery strikes reportedly killed two SDF members and injured others, with reports of captives and missing personnel.

In retaliation, the SDF shelled Turkish bases in the Ain Issa countryside. Turkish forces responded by deploying military reinforcements amid heightened alert at their bases in Raqqa’s countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).